#copingmechanisms - Hello Poetry

I sit quietly in the corner of the room. The fluorescent lights blinding me, the hazy blur of bodies throwing taunting words, that leaves invisible scars on my soul. I must smile and swallow the age-old lesson "forgive and forget." I should play mother to the pretentious. I need to stay poised, a lifeless doll trapped in an All-American dream. I have to laugh sweetly, choking on the venom. Politics, gender roles, and important issues. I will nod my head like a puppet to appease their boulder-sized egos. I am an ever-giving light, bleeding out my kindness because that's what’s expected. I must never let them see the raging beast beneath my ribs. I should be a machine that cuts its engine the second a man asks. I need to play into the hypocritical standards, hiding the urge to bite back. I have to be eternally grateful for the crumbs of attention they graciously throw to me. I sit quietly in the corner of the room.

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3d ago

May 30, 2026 at 11:57 PM UTC

ilovearcher11

The All American Dream

I sit quietly in the corner of the room. The fluorescent lights blinding me, the hazy blur of bodies throwing taunting words, that leaves invisible scars on my soul. I must smile and swallow the age-old lesson "forgive and forget." I should play mother to the pretentious. I need to stay poised, a lifeless doll trapped in an All-American dream. I have to laugh sweetly, choking on the venom. Politics, gender roles, and important issues. I will nod my head like a puppet to appease their boulder-sized egos. I am an ever-giving light, bleeding out my kindness because that's what’s expected. I must never let them see the raging beast beneath my ribs. I should be a machine that cuts its engine the second a man asks. I need to play into the hypocritical standards, hiding the urge to bite back. I have to be eternally grateful for the crumbs of attention they graciously throw to me. I sit quietly in the corner of the room.

17

I linger in the shadows, rehearsing every line of my prose, starving for kindred to stay long enough to be mine, while burying the wires of my seemingly accidental coincidences. The wisest and most solicitous beings must drag their pawns across the board. Checkmate. I built my realm with careful formulation The wicked crime to be committed: forcing spirits in a causal nexus of maneuvers. I hide the scars that I have scattered on my heart as a child. The vicious rejections of my being. That is the architect of my everlasting scheming: the brutal concealment of a desire to be loved wholly. Yet you unraveled my soul and saw right through me, made up your mind long before to stay, and played the puppet for my sanity without me realizing. With a wide, knowing smile on your face— you memorized the choreography of my strategy, you knew I only care.

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2d ago

May 31, 2026 at 11:58 PM UTC

ilovearcher11

Nexus

I linger in the shadows, rehearsing every line of my prose, starving for kindred to stay long enough to be mine, while burying the wires of my seemingly accidental coincidences. The wisest and most solicitous beings must drag their pawns across the board. Checkmate. I built my realm with careful formulation The wicked crime to be committed: forcing spirits in a causal nexus of maneuvers. I hide the scars that I have scattered on my heart as a child. The vicious rejections of my being. That is the architect of my everlasting scheming: the brutal concealment of a desire to be loved wholly. Yet you unraveled my soul and saw right through me, made up your mind long before to stay, and played the puppet for my sanity without me realizing. With a wide, knowing smile on your face— you memorized the choreography of my strategy, you knew I only care.

20

I submerge myself In the unreal. I breathe it in Pretending it’s air. It fills my nose My mouth My lungs. Too lost in ecstasy To know I’m drowning. And when I break The surface It sends pins and needles Through my brain. So I sink back Slowly, just slowly Letting it envelop me The descent, a deadly comfort.

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Jan 3, 2024

Jan 3, 2024 at 12:58 PM UTC

mjsayshey

break the surface

I submerge myself In the unreal. I breathe it in Pretending it’s air. It fills my nose My mouth My lungs. Too lost in ecstasy To know I’m drowning. And when I break The surface It sends pins and needles Through my brain. So I sink back Slowly, just slowly Letting it envelop me The descent, a deadly comfort.

17

How many people have I known; taking them into me, speaking that universal, ancient language of intimate bodies. All the beds I've slept in, all the hands that have felt me move as I dance the age old dance.

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Nov 12, 2020

Nov 12, 2020 at 9:25 AM UTC

isobel-g

Ritual

How many people have I known; taking them into me, speaking that universal, ancient language of intimate bodies. All the beds I've slept in, all the hands that have felt me move as I dance the age old dance.

7

Sometimes I wish I was invisible. Not to go around and be sneaky. Doing **** that upsets people or hurts them. I just wish I was invisible because I'm just so ******* tired of being seen. Having to hide my insecurities. Having to lock up my emotions. Having to keep myself safe. Just being out there. I rock. Not the kind where i'm awesome... The kind where I find I hug myself. Where I move back and forwards. All the ******* time. When I eat. When I write. When I read. When I do anything. Just gently rocking. Always have and probably always will. But it comforts me. I comfort me That's so ******* weird. But it's honest. I wish I was invisible. So that the world could leave me alone. Because it gnaws on my bones. Like it has the right to do that to me. I just want to be invisible so I can live quietly. Doing my own thing. And no one will know I am there. And hopefully no one will see me. And, if I close my eyes. And rock quietly, and slowly. I think that's the closest I will ever get. To being invisible.

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Feb 24, 2016

Feb 24, 2016 at 1:13 PM UTC

littlebear

Invisible me.

Sometimes I wish I was invisible. Not to go around and be sneaky. Doing **** that upsets people or hurts them. I just wish I was invisible because I'm just so ******* tired of being seen. Having to hide my insecurities. Having to lock up my emotions. Having to keep myself safe. Just being out there. I rock. Not the kind where i'm awesome... The kind where I find I hug myself. Where I move back and forwards. All the ******* time. When I eat. When I write. When I read. When I do anything. Just gently rocking. Always have and probably always will. But it comforts me. I comfort me That's so ******* weird. But it's honest. I wish I was invisible. So that the world could leave me alone. Because it gnaws on my bones. Like it has the right to do that to me. I just want to be invisible so I can live quietly. Doing my own thing. And no one will know I am there. And hopefully no one will see me. And, if I close my eyes. And rock quietly, and slowly. I think that's the closest I will ever get. To being invisible.

36

fingers dance up and down the fretboard a violinist gives voice to endless frustration ~ lyrics hold endless meaning - damaged souls tangle themselves in the chords, ******* vitality as milk from a mother to drown out endless white noise ~ tears roll down cheeks pale from lack of sunlight, glimmering with tiny flames as heros conquer the demons we /wish/ we had the bravery to tackle

0

Nov 18, 2014

Nov 18, 2014 at 7:06 PM UTC

the-storyteller

We Say it so Many Ways

fingers dance up and down the fretboard a violinist gives voice to endless frustration ~ lyrics hold endless meaning - damaged souls tangle themselves in the chords, ******* vitality as milk from a mother to drown out endless white noise ~ tears roll down cheeks pale from lack of sunlight, glimmering with tiny flames as heros conquer the demons we /wish/ we had the bravery to tackle

27

It is Wednesday evening and the world feels like a sudden inward breath. A storm is in the air but only I can feel it. Silver flashes, turns to red rivulets down my leg, endorphins in my head and the storm abates. I exhale.

0

Nov 16, 2014

Nov 16, 2014 at 7:37 AM UTC

sallydannielle

The Storm

It is Wednesday evening and the world feels like a sudden inward breath. A storm is in the air but only I can feel it. Silver flashes, turns to red rivulets down my leg, endorphins in my head and the storm abates. I exhale.

10